LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The annual rite of spring:
Projecting the NCAA Tournament, round-by-round!
I came close to picking Gonzaga over Arizona in the West Round of 32 in San Diego but backed off at the last second, as was the case of nearly opting for Virginia over Michigan State in the Round of 16 in the East.
As you’ll see as you read on, I did bounce three No. 1 seeds before the Final Four.
Ultimately I elected to go with the team I projected as the 2014 national champion early last summer.
Proceed at your own risk . . .
2014 NCAA TOURNAMENT
Round-by-Round Projections
FIRST FOUR: (Tuesday/Dayton) Mt. St. Mary’s d. Albany; North Carolina State d. Xavier; (Wednesday/Dayton) Cal Poly d. Texas Southern; Iowa d. Tennessee.
ROUNDS II/III
SOUTH:
(Thursday-Saturday/Orlando)
Florida d. Mt. St. Mary’s; Pittsburgh d. Colorado; Pittsburgh d. Florida;
(Buffalo)
Ohio State d. Dayton; Syracuse d. Western Michigan; Syracuse d. Ohio State.
(Friday-Sunday/San Diego)
UCLA d. Tulsa; VCU d. Stephen F. Austin; VCU d. UCLA;
(St. Louis)
New Mexico d. Stanford; Kansas d. Eastern Kentucky; Kansas d. New Mexico.
EAST:
(Thursday-Saturday/Spokane)
Michigan State d. Delaware; Cincinnati d. Harvard; Michigan State d. Cincinnati;
(Buffalo)
Villanova d. Milwaukee; Saint Joseph’s d. Connecticut; Saint Joseph’s d. Villanova.
(Friday-Sunday/Raleigh)
Virginia d. Coastal Carolina; Memphis d. George Washington; Virginia d. Memphis;
(San Antonio)
North Carolina d. Providence; Iowa State d. North Carolina Central; Iowa State d. North Carolina.
WEST:
(Thursday-Saturday/Spokane)
North Dakota State d. Oklahoma; San Diego State d. New Mexico State; San Diego State d. North Dakota State;
(Milwaukee)
Oregon d. BYU; Wisconsin d. American; Wisconsin d. Oregon.
(Friday-Sunday/San Diego)
Arizona d. Weber State; Gonzaga d. Oklahoma State; Arizona d. Gonzaga;
(San Antonio)
Nebraska d. Baylor; Creighton d. Louisiana-Lafayette; Creighton d. Nebraska.
MIDWEST:
(Thursday-Saturday/Orlando)
Saint Louis d. North Carolina State; Louisville d. Manhattan; Louisville d. Saint Louis;
(Milwaukee)
Michigan d. Wofford; Texas d. Arizona State; Michigan d. Kansas.
(Friday-Sunday/St. Louis)
Wichita State d. Cal Poly; Kansas State d. Kentucky; Wichita State d. Kansas State;
(Raleigh)
Iowa d. Massachusetts; Duke d. Mercer; Duke d. Iowa.
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS/FINAL
SOUTH: (March 27-29/Memphis) Pittsburgh d. VCU; Kansas d. Syracuse; Kansas d. Pittsburgh.
EAST: (March 28-30/New York City) Michigan State d. Virginia; Iowa State d. Saint Joseph’s; Michigan State d. Iowa State.
WEST: (March 27-29/Anaheim) Arizona d. San Diego State; Wisconsin d. Creighton; Wisconsin d. Arizona.
MIDWEST: (March 28-30/Indianapolis) Wichita State d. Louisville; Duke d. Michigan; Wichita State d. Duke.
FINAL FOUR
North Texas
Semifinals: Michigan State d. Kansas; Wichita State d. Wisconsin.
Final: Michigan State d. Wichita State.
